Method for processing shrimp



Jan. 12, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL METHOD FoR PROCESSING SHRIMP '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2l, 1963 INVENTORS HENRY E AMBOS BY HERMAN R. LETCHWORTH ATTORNEYS Jan. 12, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL METHOD FOR PROCESSING SHRIMP '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 2l, 1963 INVENTORS HENRY F. AMBOS BY HERMAN R. LETCHWORTH MQ WMM@ A TTORNE Y.S'

Jan. 12, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL 3,164,859

METHOD FOR PROCESSING SHRIMP Filed May 2l, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 @o BY 8' A TTORNEYS Jan. l2, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL v 3,164,859

` METHOD F'OR PROCESSING SHRIMP Filed May 21, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7

"i il; 64 64/` IVENTORS HENRI F. AMBOS BY HERMAN R. LETcHwoRTH wm MM ATTORNEYl Jan. 12, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL 3,164,859

METHOD FOR PROCESSING SHRIMP Filed May 2l, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG."

ne I

HENRY -I'II HERMAN R. LETcHwoRTH A TTORNE YS METHOD FOR PROCESSING SHRIMP Filed May 21, 1965 7 Sheefns-Sheei'l 6 %I m 4\ (m INVENOR Illmlmlm Wim I xmlmllml I H E N R Y A M BOS BY HERMAN R. LETcHwoRTH Isl-. x46 @mf Ma 'Vmw' A TTORNE Y6' Jan. l2, 1965 H. F. AMBOS ETAL METHOD FOR PRocEssING SHRIMP 7 sheets-sheet 7 Filed May 21. 1963 FIG. I8

. mi" R d o M, ,A O mw w m 2 www M M G EBE m/ I vmL m 6 El WER. Lw N 6 N u 6 H m WH ...nIJ .Nl .AlmH// .um Tf HH www nah`,-'Ga., 'a corporation oi Delaware 1 :erlernteShnmpjiaact.

sans@ v f NETHGD son rnonagSmG-SHM Henry F. Anillos and 'Herman Vnstchis'vorti-h, Savannah,

`Ga`.','-ass`ignors to Allean'tns.iAtitoi-:n.eltioir Corp., Savane,

rires May er, rasa, ser. No. estasi. s @realise-1 ternir-4st 'Ihsiinvention relatestomethodsfor processing shrimp,

vand more .fparticularly to methods and" apparatus vfor l t preparingfm yrestless shrimpror 'ri-ying.'

The pres'ent invention is especially directedto methods for `auton1atic5atl lyA `proces'sing or preparing headless, raw4 3 lhllh@ Patented dan. l2, 1965 fthe head Vend `of the sari-isp. `and the dsiraientv b'odyl'of Y `the shrimp is'then split and opened out in preparationfor ,..dippir'xg'in 'a breading batter. 1

l 5 erally vfrom side'to siderejlativeto thebody v.lThe shrimp ing the body and tail sections of the shellcircumfereni i is `supported from opposite sides at a locationforwardly ofthe tail shell-body shell joint andthe side to side fleX- i' ving of theshrirnp separates the Vshell joint normally..join-v `tially around the body of the shrimp. vTheshr'imp is then `shrimp to placetheshrirnp in condition to be coated with a batter or breaded for a deep fryingcovoking operation.

VIn preparing shrimp in this manner,` it is neccessary to remove that portion of the shrimp body'shell located forwardly ofthe tailor the shrimp, to remove thesand vein from th'eshrimrg` and to i split the shrimp st lbstsnitially .entirely through from .topto bottom longitudinally so passed beneath a shell slittingzsaw having an axially pro-l jecting iiange which establishes the depth of cut ofthe saw to a depth sufficient to expose the sand vein `ofthe shrimp. The Vshrimp are conveyed longitudinallybeneath 'Y the saw; the'saw cuts through the dorsalV center line'of` the shrimp toseparate Vthejliody shell section along the the' opposite sides of the bodyof V'the vshrimp may be opened- 'out and fully coated with "batter for the; subseque'ntly `known as butterflyfshrimp."

In Vrecent years, ka su bsta'n'tial 4 amountof. development `has occured in the iieldfoffrnethods and apparatus for `dcshellingshrimp `autoxnatica`ll y. flylost processes ori 'inachinos presently use are ,employed to'prep'ar'elthe shrimp :1 for` a boiling operation =by separating.V the body.: ofthe "'shrimp from the head, tailandgcoverin'g lshell with' or without .removal oftheV so-calledl. "sandy/ein?. whichwex- 4tends longitudinally through thefshriznp bodyvslightly `beneath the dorsal side of the shrimp. "t The conventional manner of deshelling shrimp forlthe foregoing purpose is to' pass the shrimp through `the-filip of a pair of de-v shelling rolle'rswhich squeeze the shrimp to eject thebo'dy meatfronithe shell. f. t

The preparingof shrimp for; frying is a'sorne'whatmore complicated processbecausejit involves notfonly the separationof `the shrimpbody from its shellgfb'ufalso.requires the splitting of theshrimpwinto the SocaIledl butterliy shape. .A IJfurther problem is presentedin that'it'jfis fle-y "sited toleave theqtailof4 the' shrimp intact. "Thus, 'the passing of the'shrimp between a pair 'of lsqueezing rollers is notsatisfactory `the preparation of shr'irn'pforV fry-ing `because this type of d eshelling. ;operationmerely sepalrates the body fronrtheifshellad also, in the usualcase,

separates thetbodylfroin the tail,v

Theshrimp are then vconveyed .into the of opposed parallel chains which carry resilient squeezing topo-f the shell from the head end ofthe shrimp to the circumferential break in the shell accomplished inthe previous step. A high` pressure water jet is .associated withthe shell slitting saw and directedinto the slit Aformed f by the saw to wash out the exposed sand vein as the saw slits the shell and exposes the sand vein:`

lingers `located toengagethe shrimp-body-from opposite ,sides along the lower portion of the body'.V yImmediatelyl prior to the'nip an upwardly directed air jet `blows they tailor" the shrimp upwardly clear of the opposed squeezing fingers so that the tail shell is not gripped bythe lingers.

The'resilient ngerspsqu'eeze theshrimp andurge` the body of the shrimp upwardly partially Vthroilgh theslitV ..-cut infthetop of the body shellfby theshell slittingsaw.

This action loosens the body shell from the' bo'dyfrn'atV ofthe shrimp. 'Aftertlreshell is loosened in theforegoing manner,- the gripping Iingers are. accelerated ina Adirectionforwardly of 'the'shrimp and pullthe loosened Accordingly, itfisa. primary'obl'i'CLo-'the present ini/en'- mannerdescriberl above" while'leavirig the tailshell andv n smother-stijger or las investi@ t@ provide a method `for eilicientljv/ ,renfrovinghifrornleadless"shrimpthalaor of the shrimp shell llocateldfforwardly Jf the"s`he ll VV joint at which the `shiinip body'shell joined to theshrimp" 'tail section shell. j In the achievement of the `toregoing, and other objects,

headlessshrinip, graded to. af generally uniform size, are

subjectedito the following process: 'the shrimp shell is circumerentially broken attire"V joint atwhich thebody .'shellis` joined to thetail shell; the shellis thenllongitudinally slit; along.v the topgof thes h1-imp :jfromV the head end of the shrimp to thecircu-mferentialfbreak; in

conjunction With-tithe'slitting ofthe .-shell, the sand; `vein is removed fromthe shrimpgthe shrimpyis then-squeezed from opposite sides of the body portionfo'f tho'shellto loosen that portion of the shellfrorn thenieat; the loosen-A ed body shellsectionfy `is then Vpulled'V 'forwardly Afrorn tion to provide a `mie'thod f or'performingthe method for, 50i

Tremonti-gms body: )Shen @sans shrimajmgeaawith body s hell clear of the head end of the fshrimp. Thei- ;body shell is then ejected by atran'sversely'directed air bla'stwhilethe shrimp b'odyand tailare :advanced into operative relationship with a 'conveye whichconveys the shrinpfben'eath "a second slittingsaW. Thejsecond slitting` saw splits the shrinip Vlengthwise substantially th'rlou'gh frornxtop td'botton to nearly rentirely separate the two oppositesides of the body from each other.` A pair of beltsoperatively related tothe'last conveyor then engage the lopposite'sides o-fthe shriinpgbody to open'the body.

tout into a flattened.for` fbuttery contiguration.`v

' YFrom this latter operationfftheshrimp yare conveyed to threading-operation. f i i' l f other ebjectsgjand Yfeatures'` of.

1 and tothe; drawings.

In the drawings:

i he form in which thewshrimphis introduced intothe i ,FlGl 3 is a perspective View 'of a shrimp' after the j shrimp has vbeen processed by the machine oi FIGS.' 1A,

iG. vl is a perspective view of the Clrcurnferential breaking. of the shrimp shell fatl Vthe L: tail sectionsbody section Vjoint is accomplishedby-'snpportfing the shrimp body Iand flexing the tail of thefshr-im'p lat- FG.' l lis -a side elevational'viewz withcertainparts `j broken away or shownin section,y of 'a portion of a processinglmachine embodyingtthe invention; v

isa side elevational lView ofthe remainingl Y portion of themachinef FIG 1A; t

machine with parts. to the right of the line 4 4 -o fFIG. l omitted,-shovv ifng vdetails of the "shellbieaking'and magazine feeding appal FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9-9 ofFIGvf; n

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 11).-10 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a perspective View showing details of that portion of the apparatus at the entrance to the shell removal station of the machine;

FIG. l2ris a partial side elevational view showing a shrimp entering the shell removal station;

FIG. 13 is a detailed side elevational view of the same portion of the machine shown in FIG. 12 showing the shrimp at a point just after entry into the shell removal station; v-

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of that portion of the shell removal station immediately to the right of that portion shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. l5 is a cross-sectional View taken on the lineV 15-15 of FIG. 13; Y

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the outlet end of shell removal station; t

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of the right-hand end portion of FIG. 16, with the shell receiving chute omitted;

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view forming a continuation from the right-hand end of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken on theline 19-19 of FIG. `17; n

FIG. 20 is an end View, partially in section,` looking in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 18;

FIG. 2l is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 21-21 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 22 'is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 1 22-22 of FIG. 18;

FIG.' 23 is a top plan view showing the mannerin whichfshrimp processed by the machine shown in the preceding figures are conducted from the machine to a breading operation, not shown; and f a circumferential break so that the body shell section B is entirely separated from the tailshell section T.

(Il) The shrimp is then passed beneath a slitting saw (FIG. 6) which cuts a longitudinal slit through the en tire length of the body shell section B to a depth such that the sand vein of the shrimp is exposed.

(III) Inconjunction with step II, a water jet is directed Y longitudinally into the slit cut by the saw to wash out the sand vein. n

(IV) The shrimp is then advanced into thenip (FIG. 7) formed'by the convergence of a pair of endless chains carrying resilient gripping plates. y As the shrimp is carried into the nip, the plates engage the lower portion of the body shell (FIG. 12) from opposite sides and squeeze the shrimp to urge the body meat upwardly and partially through the slit in the body shell (FIG. 13). This action loosens the body shell from the body meat.

FIG..24 is' a schematic diagram of the drive train of fthe apparatus.

rIhe apparatus disclosed in the drawings is Aespecially designed to perform a process by means of which headless'shrimp as shown in FIG. 2 are deshelled and split open into the form shown in FIG. 3 with the tail remaining intact. This particular process is used in preparing shrimp for frying, the shrimp in the form of FIG. 3 being conducted to a breading station and, in the usual case, Y

being `subsequently frozen and packaged.

It is believed that the apparatus as shown in the drawings will be more readily understood by irstjoutlining the operations lsuccessively performed on the shrimp by the machine.

Prior to being introduced into the apparatus,.the shrimp are graded tooan approximately uniform size and theirY heads are removed ina conventional manner.

The shrimp as fed into the machine thus have the appearance' as shown in FIG. 2 with the shrimp shell intact. During their progressthrough the apparatus, referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the shrimp move from left to right (in all side,'topvand perspective views ofthe drawings) through themachine and during transit of the machine, the follow ing steps are performed in succession on the shrimp:

y (I) The shell `is broken atftha't joint J (FIG. 2) at which the tail shell section T is joined to the body shell section B. Breaking of the shell at this joint is accomplished by the structure best shown in FIG. 4 and forms (V) The gripping plates are then accelerated forwardly to pull the loosened shell forwardly beyond the head end of the shrimp (FIG. 14).

(VI)V The plates are subsequently released from the shell and the stripped body shell is ejected by an air blast (FIGS. 16 and 17).

(VII) The shrimp is then advanced beneath a second slitting saw (FIG.'18) which slits the shrimp lengthwise substantially entirely through from top to bottom.

(VIII) The split body meat is opened out on opposite sides of the slit (FIGS. 18 `and 22) into the configuration shown in FIG. 3. v I

In order to more clearly illustrate those'portions of the machine directly employed in performing the process outlined above, certain elements of the stationary machine framework have been omitted, as have conventional, commercially available components of the driving mechanism, such asrthe power source' and transmission means employed to drivevarious parts in synchronized rotation during operation of the machine. With vthe exception of mechanism for rotating the two slitting saws, all of the various shafts disclosed in the drawings are mounted for rotation about stationary axes and are rotatably mounted from the fixed frame by bearing assemblies of a conventional nature which will not be' described in detail.

Apparatus for Crcumfe'rentz'ally Breaking vthe Shrimp Shell The apparatus for circumferentially breaking the shrimp shell lis best shown in FIGS. 1A and 4. Shrimp being fed into the machine are introduced .into the machine through this apparatus which, as best seen in FIG. 4, includes a pair of power driven belts 30 each trained around a set of three rollers 32, 34 and 36. Rollers 32, 34 and 36 are mounted for rotation in a suitable frame assembly designated lgenerally`38'with all roller axes parallel to. each other and inclined downwardly to the right as viewed in FIG. 1A at anA angle of approximately 10 to 15 degrees Vbelow the horizontal. yThe runs of .the respective belts 30 between rollers 32 and 34 converge downwardly toward each other and the'respective rollers 34 Iare spaced from each other, as best seen in FIG. 4, by an amount such that a shrimpl dropped tail downwardly between the two belts can pass partially through the opening Ybetween rollers 34, but is prevented from dropping entirely through the opening.

The spacing between rollers 34 is deterrninedin accordance with the average size of shrimp being processed by the machine and is chosen to be such that the tail of the shrimp projects downwardly well beyond the lower peripheries of rollers 34.

One of each set of rollers 32, 34, 36 is driven in rotation in a direction such that the adjacent runs of the respective belts 30 are driven upwardly from their respective rollers 34 to their respective'rollers 32. This direction of movement of the belts, combined with the inclination of the roller axes, feeds shrimp dropped into the nip between the rollers 34 downwardly toward the right, as

l viewed in l1A intok the posed to va rcontinuous water spray indicated at 42.

Shrimp aref"introducedQintolthe apparatus of FIG. 4 by manually-v dropping them tail downward and feet facingv inthe direction. of downward inclination` lof the rollerv axes. As previously stated, land as shown inFlG. 4, the

"tails of the shrimp hang downwardly clear below rollers o s `mouth `ofa shrimp receiving N l s i magazine 40.` The surfaces of belts 3@ are Vpreferably ex- Y `erally o6.

l Y Conveyer'dincludes ay pairf'of.endlesseliainsoSand 7l) retspectivelyl". chain 68 being-'trained around' end 34 and project into the path. of movement of ashell v breaking plate d4 which is mounted for pivot-al oscilla-` i tion through an arc of approximatelyfl80 about an axis delined by a pivot shaft 46 rotatably journaled in frame 33. `Plate'llll is continuously pivotally oscillated between the fulllinefand dotted line'positions indicated in JFIG. 4,

the are of pivotal oscillationV being above the horizontal. `The pivotal oscillationof plate #24 causes the plate to strike the downwardly' projecting tail. of the shrimp supported'between belts 3@ and to ilexthe tail of the shrimp from side to side. A pair offspaced parallel stla-V tionary guide bars 4S areV mounted in framed immedi-- ately below the respective rollers 34fat a Ilocation such Vthat the guide'bars engage the, respective sidesjof. the

shrimp ata location somewhat forwardly of the tailzshellbody shell point Iv (FIG. 2) to limit sidewisernovement of the body. As .the shrimp is ldriven by beltstltoward l the observer between rollers 34 astviewed in FIG'. 4V

(downwardly toward the right in-FlG. lA),"the tail section of the shrimp is struck several times.V byl plate44 and il'exed relative to therbody of the shrimp suiciently such that the shrimp shelly is circumferentially brokenA or separated at thejoint JQ v s In this particular step, itis desired to break onlyfthe shrimp shell so that the tail* and tail shell of the shrimp remain attached to the shrimp body meat, but are com-- pletely separated from ,thebodyshelL' In order to ac complish this, the pivotal axis of plate '44 is disposed inf parallel relationship with Vthe axes of roller 34 andthe radial extent ofthe plate fis such that at its closestvapproach to guide bars 48, plate 4d is spaced from the'guide bars by at least the approximate thickness of lthe shrimp at the t-ail shell-body vshell joint.

Referring now'tojl-IG. 1A, .the shrimp Iare fed by .belts s Sil `into the mouth of an inclined magazine 4t?, with the shrimp oriented in a feetdownward, headforelnost (to the right asviewed in FIG. 1A) position. TheV shrimp are stacked one on top of eachfotherwithin magazine inthe fashion best shownV in FIG; 6 and are Vremoved rotation at. the end of an arm 84 which is pivoted from inspaced successionfrom the lower end of the magazine to` advance to the shell slitting station. l s

Shell Sr'itng and ySand Vein Removal Apparatus Details of the apparatus, employed for longitudinally slitting the-jbody shell and removingthe sand .Veinare f best seen in FIGS. 5 through 1 0 inclusive.

n As best seen in F156, shrimp deposited in magazine' 4G by belts 3d are stacked one on top of each other,v feet down -and'with the head endof the shrimp `facing forward'r With respect to the direction of movement of the .upper or operative run of a `support conveyor designated generally Sti. .Support conveyer' 50 includes an endless chain 52,

trained around end sprockets 54 and 555(FG. 1B).Y TheV links of chain 52 each ,carry a support-plate 58, the plates 58 abutting eachother along the horizontal runs of lchain S2 to provide a continuous supportingy surface extending longitudinally underneath shrimp being `conveyed through the apparatus between magazine 4@ the shell removal station.l c y Magazine 4@ is constructed with aj-.bottom wall 60 which is curved' 'and disposed'sclosely adjacent the path '70l 54; The side "and Afrontyvallsof,V magazine arelcut of movement of"support platesijltiabout lend sprocket andthe outlet end of' open lat their-lower ends as 62 so vthatthe'head end of k the lowermostA shrimp in 1magazine 4tlfis' exposed in a position robe gripped'between opposed-lspringglinger.sets

. tive Yrelationship withja-V pin conveyerr` designated genersprockets 72- and '74,` while chain 70 is trained aroundre-V spective endsprockets 7'6 and 78;. VEndsprockets 721'and Y 76 are driven in rotation at the"` same speed, but in'opposit'e directions so-tliat the Kadjacent runs of chains 63 and 79 move parallel to each other in theV same direc- Y tion-that is, rorn'left to right as viewed in FIG. 7.

Each chaines and llcarries a plurality of sets of, spring lingers idei, the sets of spring ngers`64 .being spacedf from each other so that a set ofiingers 64 on chain 68 is disposed in opposed relationship to a set of lingersell on lchain 7@ as the two chains pass along the opposedportions or their path. l The spacing between on chains 6d and '76 is Vsuch that as the spring lingers on the respective chains move around their respective end sprockets '72. and '76, the head endof the lowerrnost shrimp inrmagazine 4i) is gripped resilientlybetween the fingers 64j on thelprespective chains andis pulled from magazine 4b onto the supportplatjes 53 of support conveyor `includes a circularslaw, 82 mounted `for rotation in a vertical plane which also includes'the general lplanel 'of Vmovementof support plates 5S. Saw S2vis mountedfor the machineframe as `at d5 'so that the saw may pivotin a Verticalplane about pivot'dx VA motor S3 mounted on the machine frame is coupled to drive saw 82 in rota tion by` means of a belt and pulley drive designated gen? erally 9i). V i V On the opposite sides ofsaw edges of plates 92 riding on top of the shrimptoregulate the depth of cut of saw. 82.' Asbest -seen in. FlG. 9, as o Ithe shrimp is carriedbeneath saw 82, the saw longitudinally slits the shrimp Vto a depth determinedby'the radial projection of'saw 82 beyond the peripheral edges of plates 92. The slitrnade bysaw'l'extends longitudinal.- Vly along the top of the shrimp from its'rhead end( at least to the circumferential Vbreak inf-the, shrimp shell previously made by plate 44. ,Av suitable mechanical limit' stop, not shown, limit's'the downward movement of saw 82 so that the slit formed bythe Vsaw does not extend the -entire length of the shrimp. The .depth lof. cut' determined by platesQZ isiselected to be such' that -in addition to slitting entirely throughthe top of theshrimpbody shel.l`l3,` the slit extendsv downwardly into vthe dorsal side off-theV shrimp toa depth sullicient Ato expose the sand vvein Vor" theshrimp. Y

In' conjunction with "the slitting ofthe shell and ex- Y Y posure of the sand vein by 'sawSZg the sand'veinis flushed from the `slit by a' high'speed water jet projected front a nozzle 94l whchis located to `direct af jet'ofwaterinto the slit as-itgiscut by. saw 82). As best seen in FIG. 9, the configuration of spring iingers v64 is "such thatthedorsal 'side ofj the slirimpis fully exposed Iandino'interference Y occurs between spring lingers 64yand-saw182. AiShiesZjl Removarlgetppharatus After passing beneathythe shell slittingsaw assembly 80, shrimp areconveyed-by spring fingers ,64 into opera- 64; ofsa shell slitting` conveyor` assembly VViesignatedV gen-"f the opposedV sets of iingers 64 i $2, a circular plate or` ilange 92 projects axially from the saw, the peripheral which is trained about end sprockets 100 and 102 sup.

ported in the machine frame for rotation about horizontal axes. Chain 98 includes a plurality of sets of pins 104 which are mounted on chain 98 in a spaced relationship corresponding to the spacing of thevsets of spring fingersl 64 on chains 68 and 70. Chain 98 is disposed in vertical valignment with chain 50 of support conveyer 52 and in from sprocket 100 to sprocket 106 and then passing on to a horizontal run uniformly spaced above support plates 58 of support conveyer 50, this horizontal run extending from idler sprocket 106 to end Sprocket 104.

Referring now to FIG. 6, chain 98 is driven at the same speed as support conveyer 50 and spring finger carrying chains 66 and 70 and in a direction such that the lower run of chain 98 moves from left to right-ie., in the same direction as do'the adjacent runs of chains S2, 68 and 70. Chain 98 is synchronized with chains 68 and 70 'so that as a set of pins 104 approach the periphery of idler sprocket 106, a shrimp supported by opposed sets of spring fingers 64 likewise approaches sprocket 106. As the shrimp is advanced forwardly beneath sprocket 106, the set of pins 104 on chain 98 are driven downwardly into the meat of the shrimp body, passing through the slit formed in the body shell by slitting saw assemby 80. The spacing between support plates 58 of support conveyer 50 andthe lower run of chain 98 is such that pins 104 are firmly seated in the shrimp body meat in the relationship shown most clearly in FIG. 10.

Shortly after a set of pins 104 is seated in the bodymeat of the shrimp in the foregoing manner, the shrimp passes beyondrend sprockets 74 and 78 of the spring finger'carrying chains 68 and 70 and spring fingers 64 move out of engagement with the sides of the shrimp as the shrimp passes beyond sprockets 74 and 78. Movement, of the shrimp through the machine is now accomvplished by pin conveyer 96 and the shrimp continues to *advance to the right at the same speed.

Referring now to FIGS 11 through 15, as spring fingers 64 move away from the sides of the shrimp, the shrimp is advanced by pin conveyer 96 into the nip of a pair of shell removal chains 108 and 110 which are respectively trained around end sprockets 112, 114 and end sprocketsY 116, 118. Each of chains 108 and 110 carries a continuous array of resilient squeezing plates 120, the plates being being carriedonnindividual links of the chains and inclined upwardly and outwardly from their respective chains in the manner best seen in FIG. 15. The relationship of the squeezing plateson the respective chains 108 and 110 to each other and to support plates S8 of support conveyer 52 is likewise best illustrated in FIG. 15,-the inclination of the plates 120 on. the respective chains being such that their upper edges would be in resilient con- `tactwith each other in the absence of a shrimp disposed between plates 120 on the respective chains.

During the seating of pins 104 in the body meat of the shrimp,vthe shrimp is forced -downwardly onto Vthe upper edges of support plates 58 and the relationship between plates,120 and support plates 58 is such that as the shrimp begins to move between end sprockets 112 and 116 intothe converging nip of squeezing-plates 120 on chains 108 and 110, the plates 120 move into squeezing relationship with the-sides of the shrimp. along the lower portionof the body ofthe shrimp.I As the shrimp moves further into the nip,'the meat yof theshrimp is squeezed upwardly, partially through the slit `in* the shrimp shell and more firmly onto pins 104, this action being shown in FIG.12. f Y

In order to prevent the tail ofthe shrimp from being gripped betweenthe opposed squeeze plates 120, an air jet 122 is located closely. adjacent one side of support con- Cri 103 and 110. An upwardly directed blast of air from jet 122 blows the tail of the shrimp upwardly to a position clear above the nip, and as the shrimp is advanced completely into the nip, the tail of the shrimp is located above the squeezing grip lof opposed plates 120 in the fashion best seen in FIG. 13.

Chains 108 and 110 are continuously driven so that their opposed runs, adjacent support conveyer 50, move in the same direction as does the adjacent run of support conveyer 5i). Normally, chains 100 and 110 are driven at the same speed as the support conveyer. However, in order to strip the body shell from the shrimp, chains 103 and 110 are'simultaneously intermittently accelerated so that at a point in time after the shell is firmly gripped between opposed squeeze plates and the body shell has been completely loosened yas in FIGS. 13 and l5, the gripped shell is stripped forwardly beyond the head end of the shrimp as in FIG. 14. The intermittent acceleration of chains 108 and 110'is synchronized with the movement of pin conveyer 95 so that the acceleration occurs at a time when the shell is fully gripped by squeeze plates 120-i.e., at a pointof time after the shrimp has been advanced beyond sprockets 112 and 116. The spacing between adjacent sets'of pins 104 on pin conveyer 96 is such that, as best seen in FIG. 14, a space between adjacent shrimp Vis provided sufiicient to accommodate the stripped shell.

After the shrimp shell has been strippedfrom beyond the head end of the shrimp as in FIG. 14, the shell passes beyond end sprockets 114 and 11S and is blown clear of support conveyer 50 by anY air blast from a nozzle 124 located just beyond air sprockets 114 and 113. A shell receiving chute 126 may be located opposite nozzle 124 to receive the discarded body shell of the shrimp.

Meat Slittng and Opening Apparatus Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, after the shelled shrimp is carried beyond nozzle 124 by pin conveyer 96, it is moved into engagement with a second spring finger conveyer assembly designated generally 12S. Conveyer 128 includes a pair of chains 130 and 132 respectively trained around end sprockets 134, 136 and sprockets 138, 140. End sprockets 134 and '133 are commonly mounted upon a shaft 142 which also carries end sprocket 56 of support conveyer 50.

Like chains 68 and 70, chains 130 and 132 each carry a plurality of sets of spring fingers 144, the sets of fingers 144 on the respective chains being uniformly spaced and disposed in opposed relationship with each other. By virtue of the direct connection between end sprockets 134 and 138 and end sprocket 56 of the support conveyer 50, movement of spring fingers 144 is synchronized with the movement of shrimp along pin conveyer 96 so that as the shrimp approach .the outlet end of pin conveyer 96 a set of spring fingers 144 moves into gripping relationship with the sides of the shrimp as shown in FIG. 17.

Because support conveyer S0 moves out of engagement with the shrimp as spring fingers 144 grip the shrimp, the spring fingers 144 must provide the entire support for the shrimp during its transit along the upper run of chains 130, 132 between the respective end sprockets of the chain. Thus, the fingers 144 are constructedv to firmly grip the shrimp from opposite sides and because of the relatively firm bias applied to the fingers, finger opening cams 146 are suitably mounted upon the machine frame to open the'spring yfingers to permit the shrimp to be moved between the fingers by pin conveyer 96,v the cams 146terminating somewhat in advance of pin conveyer end sprocket 102 so that the fingers firmly grip the sides of the shrimp to retain the shrimp as the pins 104 are withdrawn from the shrimp as chain 98 moves upwardly about the periphery of its end sprocket 102.

The shrimp are gripped between spring fingers 144 and carried tothe right as viewed in FIG. 17 and, referring now to FIG. 18, further to theright until a pin studded erally 166i.'

sion to the breading station.

dragees periphery of pulley 15d, and as the shrimp body 'passes around Ithe periphery of pulley 150, it passes beneath `meat slitting saw assembly designated generally 154i which vincludes a circular saw bladey 156 mounted for rotationv .at the end of an arm 153 which is adiustably mountedon the machine frame as tat 16th kSaw 15d is adiustablylocated with respect to the outer periphery of pulley 15) to determine the depth tdwhich the meat is to be slit by saw 156. The saw blade is driven in rotation from a motor l@ by a belt land pulleycoupling designated gen- Saw blade 156 is spaced from the periphery oi` pulley 15G by a distance such that the shrimp meat is slit vertically from top to bottom to a depth approximately 1/15 of an inch `from the lower side of theshrimp.

described above. n

Power is normally transmitted from drive motor DM to As the shrimp is carried around the peripheryof pulley 150 and begins to pass below the horizontal, a set of spring finger openingcams 166 engage 'the spring fingers 144 to urge them to their open position. The pins of pin carrying Vbelts 14S are seated firmly in thelower side of `the shrimp and serve to retain the shrimp firmly on the belt.` 'Belt 148 then carries the shrip into operative en-V gagement with a pair of spreadinfVT belts ld which engage theshrlimp meat at opposite sides of the slit .form by saw 155 and spread the-,meat from opposite sides of the slit to openoutthe shrimpbody into. the cross-sectional con- Y l@ mounted so that belt 148is also in the direct drive train end sprockets 114,118 ot" shell removalichains 108 and 119 through an overrunning clutch OCQwhich normally drives hains'lllt and lltlat the samespeed as chain 98 of pin conveyer 96. End sprockets 114 and 118 are also connected to .the output of drive motor DM via a second path which includes a speed increasing gear boX GBand 'an intermittently engaged clutch glC.` When-clutch AIC is disengageifend sprockets 114 ,and 11S are driven via y 5 clutch @Cat their normal speed-that is, at a` speed such that chai-nsrltl, 11@ move at :the same velocity as does vchain 93 of pin conveyor 96. When intermittent clutch lIC is engaged, end sprockets 114, `11S are driven via clutch IC at a faster rate o f speed, the increased rate of speed being determined by the stepy-up'within gear: box

GB. Overrunning clutch OC permits the end sprockets,-

114, 11S to be` driven at this increased speed.

VBeltstl` of the shell breaking apparatus of FIG. 4 may, if desired, be driven from the same drive motor DMv through a suitable powertransmission such as a belt and pulley arrangement coupled to rotate rollers 134iin the desired direction at the desired speed. Shell breaking v plate 44 may also be coupled to drive motor DM through a suitable power transmission whichv includes a mechagurati'on Ashown in'FlG.l 22, the over-allappearance of being that shownin FIGS, Y i p Y Referring now to FG. 1B, as the shrimp are conveyed downwardly betweenthe converging belts 163 and 148,

the shrimp at the conclusion of the spreading operation the shrimp is supported from below byfbelts 1&3 and-is still coupled to belt 143 by means of thepins. Belt is trained arounda pair of pulleys 179i and 172 and the.y ilexing of the'belt as it moves around therperipheries or these two latter pulleys is sufficient to4 separate the pins of Y belt 143 from the shrimp meat. As best seen in FlG. .,lB,

spaced from belt i'tiat adistance auch that the lower supv port for the shrimp body is removed just prior to the pa'ssage ofbelt 148 around pulley 1.72.1 The shrimp drop nism operable to convert the continuous rotation of drive motor DM int-o rotary oscillation of plate 44. 1 While one `exemplary embodiment of the invention has t been disclosed, it willbe apparent to those skilled in theV Y art that they disclosed .embodimentv may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is to. be considered exemplary, rather than limiting, and the true scoperof the inventionwis that dened in the followingclaims.V

What We`claimas our invention is: 1 l

1.7A method of partially deshelling headless shrimp comprising the steps of l'lexingthe `tail of the shrimp from side to side to circumferentially break the shrimp shell at a' location adjacentetheajuncture ofthe tailsectionshell and the body section shell, slitting the top ofthe shrimp. Vshelllongitudinallytromthe head end of theA shrimp to the circumferential break,land pulling the slit portion of,

, the; shell forwardly' from the bodyof the shrimp; belts 168 pass around a, lower end pulley 174 which is cally shownat 1715 and are conveyed to abreadingstation.

ln the usual case, the conveying operation is 'generally similar toithatschematicallyillustrated in FIG. 23 in' which the shrimp are conveyed onto anindexing plate 17d to form a row consistingjoi a selectingrnumber of shrimp and the rows are indexed at intervalsonto a subsequent conveyer 180 whichadvances the rows in ,spacedjsucces- For the sake of clarity, structural detailsr'of .the mecha-v nism which drives the various components of therapparatus described above havebeen omitted from thef'drawings.

A schematicQrepresentation ofV an exemplary formA of driverrtrain is shown in FIG. 24 as including asuitable' drive motor DM which may be mounted at` any conven# ient location upon thermachinetrarne. `The output ofr nger conveyer 128, and toone sert of pulleys, for example drive motor DM Ais transmitted; directly by any suitable power transmission means suchA as gearingfjetcj.` to end f sprockets 74. and '78 Vof shell slitting. `conveyer 55,10 lv sproclretaltlZof pin conveyer 95, tojshaft 142, Vwhich is v commonfto support conveyer Sti vand the seeondspring `v 142 is transmitted through the chains of conveyer 128 t to shaft 152, upon which; pulleylSt) lof pin'belt 148 is'- 2. The method of partially deshelling headless shrimp l. comprisingthe steps of flexing thetailofV the shrimp from4 side to side to c ircurnierentially', break the shelll at-thev s helljoint which joins the tailfsection of the shelltothe body section of thev shell, longitudinally slitting the top vo f'the shrimp from the head end of the shrimp tothe last comprising theistepsV of flexing thetail ofthe shrimp from side Vto side `to circumferentially break "the-tail; section `shell from the shrimp body shell at'the shell'- joint" joining I the ,tail section'shell and the body section shellglongil Y tudin'allyslittingy the top of the bodyl section` shell frorrr t the; head vend o f the shrimpto the circumferential break Y grippiugthe lower portion `of the "shrimp forwardly of" a the separated shell joint yfrom oppositer'sides andsqueezing thezshrimpto urge the body meat of the shrimp-upwardly v andpartially through Vth-,slit in the 'body shellrsection to loose'n'therbody meat from the slit body shell, and pulling A body shell forwardly be'yondthe headfend of the loosened the shrimp; Y

, 4. The methodof partiallyideshelling headlessgshrimp v comprising the steps of lexing the tailof the shrirnp'gfrom 1 side to side to circumferentially break` the shrimp shell at l thefshell joint at which the-tail shell section is joined tol n fthe shrimp body shell section,;"slitting theft'op of the sepa- 1 rated body shell sectionv throughout its entire length, 'Y 4` inserting a shrimpV retaining element` through the last mentioned slit into the meat ofthe` Shrimp buds/,gripping i the lower portions of the body section shell from opposite sides and squeezing the shrimp to urge the body meat of the shrimp upwardly through the slit in the body shell section to loosen the body meat from the slit body shell section, and pulling the loosened body shell section forwardly relative to the retaining element to remove the body section shell from the shrimp.V

5. The method of partially deshelling headless shrimp comprising the steps of supporting a shrimp from opposite sides of its body at a location forwardly of the shell joint i at which the tail shell section Vof the shrimp is joined to the body shell section, flexing the tail of the shrimp from side to side while the shrimp is so supported to circumferentially break the shrimp shell at the aforementioned shell joint, longitudinally slitting the top of the shrimp over the entire length of the body shell section through the shell to a depth sumeient to expose the sand vein, washing out the sand Vein, inserting a shrimp retaining element into the body meat of the shrimp through the slit in the body shell section and conveying the shrimp by said retaining element forwardly along a given path, gripping the lower portion of the body shell as the shrimp vis conveyed along the given path by said retaining element,

and accelerating the forward movement of the gripped l body shell section to pull the gripped body shell section forwardly beyond the head end of the shrimp.

'6. The method of processing headless shrimp comprising the steps of supporting the shrimp from opposite sides of its body at a location forwardly of the shell joint at which the tail section shell is joined to the body section shell, flexing Ithe tail of the shrimp from side to side to circumferentially break the shell at the aforementioned shell joint, slitting the top of the body shell section throughout its entire length from the head end of the shrimp to the separated shell joint, removing the slit and separated body shell section from the shrimp, and subsequently slitting the shrimp longitudinally from the top of the shrimp substantially entirely through the shrimp to permit opening of the shrimp body in preparation for a breading operation. Y

7. The method of processing headless v'shrimp comprising the step of ilexing the tail of the shrimp from side to side to circumferentially break the shell of the shrimp at the shell joint at which the tail section shell is joined to the body'section shell, longitudinally slitting the top of the shrimp Afrom the head end to the aforementioned circumferential break to a dep-th suicient to expose the sand vein, washing out the sand vein from the slit, removing the slit and separated body shell section from the shrimp, and subsequently again slitting the shrimp longitudinally from the top of the shrimp substantially entirely through the shrimp to permit opening of the shrimp body in preparation for a breading operation.

8. The method of processing headless shrimp comprising the steps of flexing the tail of the shrimp from side to side to circumferentially break the shrimp shell at the joint at which the tail section shell is joined to the body section shell, longitudinally slitting the top of the shrimp from its head end to the circumferential break through the body shell section to a depth sucient to expose the sand vein, washing out the sand vein from the slit, squeezing the lower portion of the shrimp from opposite sides of its body to loosen the slit and separated body shell section from the shrimp body, pulling the loosened body shell section forwardly from the head end of the shrimp to remove the body section shell, and subsequently slitting the shrimp longitudinally from the top of the shrimp substantially entirely through the shrimp body to permit opening of the shrimp body in preparation for a breading operation.

9. The method of processing headless shrimp comprising the steps of flexing the tail of the shrimp from side to side to circumferentially break the shrimp shell at the joint at which the tail section shell is joined to the body section shell, longitudinally slitting the top of the shrimp from the head end of the shrimp to the circumferential bre-ak to a depth suiicient to expose the sand vein, directing a jet of water into the slit to wash out the sand vein, inserting a shrimp retaining element into the body of the shrimp through the aforementioned slit, squeezing the shrimp body from opposite sides along the lower portion of the body to urge .the body meat of the shrimp partially through the slit in the shell while the body is retained on the shrimp retaining element, pulling the shrimp body shell forwardly beyond the head end of the shrimp while the shrimp body is retained on the shrimp retaining element, removing the shrimp retaining element from the l body of the shrimp, and subsequently slitting the shrimp longitudinally from the top substantially entirely through -the body to permit opening of the shrimp body in preparaton for a breading operation.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A METHOD OF PARTIALLY DESHELLING HEADLESS SHRIMP COMPRISING THE STEPS OF FLEXING THE TAIL OF THE SHRIMP FROM SIDE TO SIDE TO CIRCUMFERENTIALLY BREAK THE SHRIMP SHELL AT A LOCATION ADJACENT THE JUNCTURE OF THE TAIL SECTION SHELL AND THE BODY SECTION SHELL, SLITTING THE TOP OF THE SHRIMP 